Islamic State Fighters Are Shooting Civilians That Try to Escape Fallujah

Islamic State (IS) fighters are shooting at Iraqi civilians who are making increasingly desperate attempts to escape from the besieged city of Fallujah, where pro-government Iraqi forces are attempting to oust the militant group from one of its strongholds.

Ali Hanoon, a member of Iraq's elite counterterrorism unit, told the Associated Press that IS militants shot and killed 14 people on Sunday as they tried to escape from the city, which is about 40 miles west of Baghdad in Anbar province.Hanoon said "dozens" of civilians have been shot dead in similar circumstances by IS gunmen, but he declined to say exactly how many civilians had been killed.

Some Fallujah residents have been using makeshift boats and rafts to cross the approximately 300-yard wide Euphrates River south of the city, escaping from what one aid official described last week as a "human catastrophe." The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that 50,000 civilians were trapped in Fallujah with limited access to medical supplies, food and water. UNHCR confirmed that several people — including a number of children — drowned over the weekend as they attempted to cross the river.

Iraqi forces, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, launched an offensive on Fallujah in late May. The city, which is strategically significant because of its proximity to Baghdad, has been under IS occupation since early 2014. The Iraqi operation stalled last week amid fierce resistance from IS fighters holed up in the city, but the pro-government troops were able to secure the city's southern border on Sunday.

Hanoon told AP that IS knows that "if they trap the civilians, it will slow our progress."

Last week, an IS suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of civilians who were trying to flee Fallujah, killing two and wounding three, according to AP.

Nasr Muflahi, Iraq's country director at the Norwegian Refugee Council, told VICE News last week that IS had started "moving families into the center of the city as shields, and to stop the bombardment from Iraqi and coalition forces."

Caroline Gluck, a UNHCR spokesperson in Baghdad, told Al Jazeera that around 12,000 people have fled the city since May 23 when the Iraqi forces launched their offensive. "Many of them are desperate and traveled long journeys trying to avoid detection by ISIL with nothing but clothes they wear," Gluck said, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State. "The fleeing families were traumatized, distraught and looked pale."

On Saturday, at least 34 Iraqi soldiers were reportedly killed as they retook Saqalawiya, a suburb about four miles northwest of Fallujah. The Iraqi army has been suffering huge losses. Last Wednesday, at least 130 Iraqi soldiers died in a series of suicide bombings in Fallujah.

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